Department for Work and Pensions

I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and pay tribute to her campaigning for people on ben...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I was asked to take 10 minutes, so I will have to wrap up soon. I am sure my hon. Friend will get...

Order. I thank the hon. Lady for her brevity, but it will be obvious to the House that we have li...

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate on the spending of the Department for Work and Pensions....

rose—

Of course I will give way. The hon. Gentleman now has his chance.

If the hon. Gentleman wants us to provide a stick to beat the Conservatives with, he could try th...

The evidence states that those on UC are more likely to find work and to increase their earnings—...

There is something I do not understand here. Not only is there the five-week starting period, but...

First, we have the two-week run-off with regard to housing benefit. We also have the system of ad...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not give way, because I am taking quite a lot of time. The reality is that UC is designed ...

The hon. Gentleman says that 82% are satisfied, but does he agree that 18% unsatisfied is still t...

Yes, of course, because we should always strive for 100%, as I said right at the start. But when ...

Order. We do not shout from the Front Bench, nor from any other Bench, but especially not from th...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.

It is notable that we can deliver rhetoric, shout and talk...

There has been a huge change in the debates that we have about poverty in this country. When I fi...

I am glad that the Chair of the Select Committee has raised the benefits freeze. Our research thr...

I hope that long before the Chancellor rises at the Dispatch Box—the position that the Minister w...

I wish in a way that, at the time, I had been able to defend the courage of my good friend the Me...

And beyond. Families know they are finished as a family if they lose their homes, so the fight is...

Order. I am afraid that I will have to reduce the time limit to five minutes.

5.39 pm

It is an honour to be able to speak in this estimates day debate. I congratulate the hon. Member ...

I would like to begin by congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Ruth George) on ...

People do not get any of that additional money during the months that they have to wait for an ap...

The hon. Gentleman is correct. For people waiting, it may as well be never. The Courts and Tribun...

When it comes to problems with the Department for Work and Pensions and its policies, it is actua...

rose—

I beg the hon. Gentleman’s pardon.

In my constituency of Edinburgh West, we are only just l...

I tried to intervene on the point about universal credit. I do not believe that I voted on univer...

Yes, it was our policy, and if it had been delivered with the amount of money that was originally...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will continue, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind.

The constituent I mentioned was told ...

I want to raise one topic, which has already been touched on by my hon. Friend the Member for Hig...

On zero-hours contracts, does it alarm the right hon. Gentleman that someone on universal credit ...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. On JSA, people could not be sanctioned for that and on un...

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Ruth George) for her excellent opening ...

My hon. Friend has to remember that this is against a background of the £12 billion cuts that the...

I totally agree. I have visited my hon. Friend in Coventry and many of the women from the so-call...

It is strange that but a couple of handfuls of Members are here to discuss one of the largest bud...

Like others, I pay tribute to our colleague the hon. Member for High Peak (Ruth George) for secur...

I am afraid we have to reduce the time limit to four minutes.

6.20 pm

I am pleased that the House is having this debate today because it has given Members an opportuni...

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for High Peak (Ruth George) on opening the debate and se...

A few hours ago, our city bid goodbye to Kane Walker. He was a young man who died on our streets ...

It is a pleasure to follow the impassioned, articulate and erudite speech by the right hon. Membe...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Neil Gray). I congratulate my ...

It is a pleasure to respond to this debate—a vital discussion on how this Government, and our Dep...

Will the Minister give way?

I will not take interventions just yet, as I need to make a bit more progress. A total of 700,000...

rose—

I will give way shortly.

We have seen changes to advanced payments. We introduced the two-w...

I have constituents who were housed by Rhondda Housing Association. They were on the old benefits...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right—we have to make the transition as smooth as possible, wher...

I know this is a small point in the overall scheme of universal credit, but I mentioned my consti...

The hon. Lady made a powerful point about Antony, and the relevant Minister will contact her to d...

rose—

I am sorry but I do not have time to give way. The duty to refer change that was brought in in Oc...

I thank the Minister, the shadow Minister and all those who have made powerful speeches. Members ...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I seek your guidance. May I thank the Chancellor of the D...

The right hon. Lady has certainly put that point on the record. I am sorry she feels that she has...